CLINICAL
NEWS
American College of Cardiology Extended Learning
Universal Definition of MI: Clinical Confusion Continues
Distinguishing AMI from cardiac injury due to other causes
C
onsiderable clinical confusion continues to
exist regarding the diagnosis of type 2 MI as
well as a nonischemic myocardial injury. The
Third Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction
was published in 2012, classifying MIs into five types
as to whether they are spontaneous, secondary to
imbalance between coronary artery blood supply and
demand, related to sudden death, or related to revascularization procedures.1 The definition is based on a rise
or fall in troponin levels occurring in a clinical setting.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF MI
The need for a universally understood and applied defin